So, I'm having some trouble. I understand the general concept of what the Ranges are and how to move between them. However, I do not understand exactly how Range Bands work in combat in relation to the types of weapons being used. For instance:

1. If a PC is at Medium Range to a target using a Pistol with a Medium Range limit - I understand that if the PC attacks the target with that pistol at Medium Range, the base DC is 2 Difficulty Dice.

2. If the same PC attacks with the same Pistol to a target at Long Range, it increases the DC by one, rendering the difficulty to 3 Difficulty Dice.

3. My question is - what's the deal with Short Range? Is Short Range with the same Medium Range Pistol still considered 2 DD or does it also upgrade to 3 DD, since technically it is one Range increment more (considering the perspective) than the Weapon's base Range?

I ask this because other than planetary social or legal concerns with the PC running around with a high-powered Ranged (Light) Rifle... why exactly wouldn't the PC just use the Rifle instead of the Pistol since it does more damage, can target up to Long Range with 2 DD, and has more Hard Points for modding?

I guess I just would like some clarification on what the catch is.

The range listed on the weapon reflects the weapon's maximum range. So a pistol or carbine with a range of medium can shoot at targets at short or medium range. It cannot shoot at long range. A weapon with a range of Long can shoot at targets at short, medium, or long range.

Regardless of the range of the weapon, the base difficulty of shooting at a target at short range is always 1 difficulty die, 2 at medium, 3 at long, and 4 at extreme. (Note, there are no weapons that can shoot at extreme range without special talents or weapon modifications). There are a few special circumstances that alter this rule, such as using a scope at long or extreme range, but they are few and far between. This represents that it's much easier to hit targets that are closer, because larger targets are easier to hit (the same reasoning behind larger silhouette creatures and vehicles being easier to hit). This is quite apparent if you've ever been to a shooting range.

For shooting at engaged range, the base difficulty is 1 die + 1 additional die if using a ranged (light) weapon, or 2 additional dice if using a ranged (heavy) weapon. Gunnery weapons cannot be used at engaged range.

For using melee or brawl at engaged range, the base difficulty is always 2 dice.

The "catch" to using longer range weapons is that they are more expensive, require ranged (heavy) instead of ranged (light), require more encumbrance, can't be taken as many places (some places restrict "offensive weaponry"), and can't really be concealed. That being said, generally speaking, blaster rifles are better than blaster pistols if you have ranged (heavy) and the encumbrance isn't an issue. It's much like a sword being a better weapon in a fight than a dagger, albeit not as convenient to carry.

The difficulty to hit is based on what range band the target is in. The range of the weapon is how far away it can effectively hit and damage a target.

So whether you have a rifle, carbine or holdout pistol, a target at short range is always one difficulty die. The holdout blaster cannot hit anything beyond that, so cannot attack targets at medium and beyond (unless you have the sniper shot talent). A carbine and rifle both can hit targets at medium range, which is base difficulty of two difficulty dice. Only the rifle can fire at long range, but difficulty to hit targets is three dice.

Also, blaster rifles are ranged (heavy) since they require two hands to use, whereas pistols are one handed and therefore use the ranged (light) skill.

Thanks, guys! This makes much more sense than I was thinking... and much easier to manage as a result!

For some reason, I was thinking all weapons could shoot at targets at all Ranges at varying degrees of success, depending on the Range set to the weapon. I'm not sure how I came to that conclusion.